Source: Aboutmyplanet.comBy VeganVerveSpecies across the globe are facing pressures at the greatest level than ever before. Thousands of species are at risk of extinction from causes spanning global warming, deforestation, human encroachment and countless others. Another serious contributor to species decline is illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife parts. This was discussed at great length at the recent meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES. 175 nations belong to this organization, which recently met to discuss the future of numerous species and whether trade in particular species will be regulated or banned. A major outcome of the meeting was the impact the internet is having on species worldwide. According to CITES, the internet is contributing greatly to illegal wildlife trade due to making it more widespread and easier to accomplish. A plethora of species have been subject to internet trading, including red and pink coral, Kaiser’s spotted newt, tiger bones and products, ivory and living species from lions to monkeys. Paul Todd, who works for the International Fund for Animal Welfare, stated: “The Internet is becoming the dominant factor overall in the global trade in protected species. There will come a time when country to country trade of large shipments between big buyers and big sellers in different countries is a thing of the past.” The International Fund for Animal Welfare has performed numerous examinations of online trade of species worldwide. They concluded that the most popular location for such trade is in the United States, however, it is also popular in China, Russia, Australia and Europe. Listings for particular species, products and parts are found in classified ads, auction sites and even chat rooms. The kind of products available that have been discovered include tiger-bone wine, pelts from an array of species such as polar bears and leopards, and live lion cubs, ocelots and capuchin monkeys. Ivory is one of the largest sellers worldwide.

Source: Timesfreepress.comAnimal control officials in the Iowa city of Waterloo are seeking a new home for a baby alligator named Chompey. A resident of the eastern Iowa city of about 68,000 people bought the alligator after spotting an online advertisement, but he later learned state law does not allow people to keep alligators or other exotic animals, The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reported (http://bit.ly/J7SVtu ) Monday. The resident turned the gator in to animal control officials, who kept the creature in an aquarium while figuring out what to do with it. Then the gator started snapping and making noises. "He was really kind of cute, but he was also kind of naughty," said Maria Tiller, Waterloo's code enforcement forewoman. "I didn't want him in my office anymore." The alligator was moved to the Pawsitive Pet Care, a veterinary center, where staffed dubbed the animal "Chompey." The alligator then was sent to a herpetologist in Des Moines, where the animal's being held in quarantine while staff seek a sanctuary in a warmer climate for Chompey. Josh Colvin, who heads animal control for Animal Rescue of Iowa, said alligator reports have dropped since the state ban on exotic animals was approved in 2007. Still, he said, people occasionally drop off gators. "They just don't realize they are going to grow up and get big," Colvin said. "The unfortunate part is that people don't think it through, and then animal control has to pick up the pieces." Iowa law also bans residents from owning lions, tigers, cougars, leopards, ocelots, elephants, bears, monkeys, crocodiles and some snakes. Exceptions can be made for zoos, circuses, fairs, animal shelters, veterinarians and researchers.

Source: Animalpeoplenews.orgBy seann lenihannAn appeal to an administrative law court filed by the zoo management foundation Fundazoo is the last hope the 97-year-old Simón Bolívar Zoo in San José and the Santa Ana conservation center have to remain open past 2014. A year after banning sport hunting, Costa Rica is poised to becoming the first nation in the western hemisphere to abolish zoos. But while the sport hunting ban was the first Costa Rican legislation passed by voter initiative, the end of zookeeping will result from the decision of environment minister René Castro to simply not renew the Fundazoo operating permits.“With this move,” Castro said, “we are sending a message that the state wishes to show biodiversity in its natural state, under a modern and holistic integration of space, society and natural resources.” Castro told the newspaper La Nación that his perspective on zoos was influenced by the escape of his grandmother’s pet parrot. “That made a big impression on me because I thought we had taken good care of her. We fed her with food and affection – all the things that we as humans thought she liked,” Castro remembered. “Yet when she had the chance, she left.” “The animal residents of the zoos––300 individuals from 60 species in the case of the Simón Bolívar zoo––will be released into the wild or found new homes in private shelters. The land will be used for botanical gardens,” reported Jonathan Watts of The Guardian.“The Simón Bolívar Zoo attracts more than 130,000 visitors a year, runs educational programs, and has its own policy of releasing animals back into the wild whenever possible,” Watts wrote. The zoo employs about 35 people to look after a collection including mostly native species: parrots, crocodiles, ocelots, snakes, and spider monkeys. The zoo also has an African lion imported from Cuba. “We are more a rescue centre than a zoo. We have never bought or collected animals,” spokesperson Eduardo Bolanos told Watts. “The state of Costa Rica’s public zoos has been a point of contention among environmental groups for years,” recalled International Business Times correspondent Mark Johanson. “The Association for the Preservation of Wild Flora and Fauna filed a lawsuit against the zoos in 2006 for poor conditions and questionable sanitation, leading the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court to order immediate improvements. The Environment Ministry has tried unsuccessfully since 2003 to terminate its contract with Fundazoos. Fundazoo, however, argues that its contract to run the zoos has already been renewed through 2024.” Movement away from keeping wildlife in captivity also gained momentum in Uruguay, with the August 2013 decision of the Montevideo municipal zoo to send two tigers to a sanctuary in the United States. More....

When I tell you that my pet Max is stubborn and hilarious, you’ll probably assume I’m talking about a cat or a dog, possibly even a bunny rabbit. But what if Max weren’t a cat or a dog? What if, instead of being an elderly Wheaten terrier who likes to play ball-in-cup, Max were a crocodile, a wallaby or a tarantula? Would you think I was crazy?

These days, fashionable pet people carry Chihuahuas in their purses and feed them organic canine cookies, and the rest of us might at worst roll our eyes. But the man who feeds fresh meat to a Siberian tiger in his backyard is considered a redneck maniac.No figures exist for the number of exotic pets currently in Canada, but rest assured, they’re out there by the nest-full, and they could be living next door.Toronto residents will never forget the six-foot-long cobra who escaped its enclosure in a west-end home in 2007. We all remember that poor woman who was killed by one of her fiancé’s tigers near 100 Mile House, B.C. And for pure tragic irony, no incident can rival the fatal mauling of Norman Buwalda in 2010 by one of his Siberian tigers. Mr. Buwalda happened to be the chairman of the Canadian Exotic Animal Owners’ Association, and had fought for years to keep his cats despite his neighbours’ repeated complaints.More recently, Darwin the IKEA monkey has become the subject of a sensational custody battle, while the German government has levied a $1,500 fine on Justin Bieber for trying to smuggle his pet capuchin monkey into the country (where he then abandoned it). Celebrities have long shown a predilection for exotic pets, from Michael Jackson’s chimp named Bubbles to Nicolas Cage’s octopus to Leonardo DiCaprio’s gigantic tortoise. More....

What brings exotic animals to the area and which are legal to own? WFMY News 2's Morgan Hightower spoke to animal control officials about the regulations. "The only thing I can say as far as being in the area is people would be real surprised at how many people have more than one reptile in their house in their neighborhood," said Chad Griffin, reptile expert. Griffin is the owner of CCSB Reptile Rescue and Rehab Center in Winston-Salem. He has alligators, a crocodile, venomous snakes, and more at his home. Most of those are illegal to own in Forsyth County but Griffin has a special license. He says animals like the ones he's rescued wind up in the Triad through the pet trade and specialty breeders.

Each county determines what type of exotic animal they will allow. More....

Etsy updated its Prohibited Items policy this week to ban the listing of items made from certain animals, such as those designated as threatened or endangered. This includes (but is not limited to) fur, pelts, ivory, teeth, bones and taxidermied specimens. Specifically, the site bans products made from bear, cheetah, chimpanzee, chinchilla, elkhorn and staghorn coral, cougar, eagle, elephant, gorilla, jaguar, lemur, leopard, lion, lynx, monkey, ocelot, rhino, seal, sea lion, tiger, wallaby, whale and zebra. Additionally, the site prohibits the listing or sale of items derived from or created using any animal species designated as threatened or endangered under the US Endangered Species Act. That full list can be found here.Even if users have permits that allow them to acquire, possess or sell an animal species from the list, it is still prohibited on Etsy. They do, however, make an exception for Native Alaskans who are exempt from restrictions under Section 10e of the US Endangered Species Act. Here’s what Etsy says about that in an FAQ: Etsy values the preservation of traditional Native Alaskan cultures. For this reason, we’ve made an exception to our prohibited species policy for authentic articles of Native Alaskan crafts that are exempt under US law.Sellers who list items on Etsy under this exception warrant that their items qualify and are in compliance with all relevant laws, including, but not limited to, the Endangered Species Act, the Whaling Convention Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, and the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990. All restrictions apply to those who do not live in the U.S., as well. The rules apply to both new products as well as vintage/antique or “pre-ban” items. More....

Illegal foresting in the Chiquibul Forest has led to increased poaching of game species. That is what has been confirmed by research conducted through the efforts of the Friends for Conservation and Development (FCD). The FCD issued in a press release today, Wednesday, the findings of a PACT-financed research conducted to address the effects of poaching on game species in the Chiquibul Forest area. According to the research, which was done over a six-month period from October 2012 to March 2013, a recorded total of 1,022 creatures of 24 different species (14 species of mammals and 10 species of birds) were poached during the duration of the research. The studies also show that the poaching is being done from the western border to the interior of the country. The hunters have been targeting larger game animals, but those species have been depleting in numbers; and smaller animals, including non-traditional game species such as the keel-billed toucan and parrots, are now being targeted. The white-lipped peccary is known to be a favorite of the hunters for food but the research did not record any sightings of this popular game species, indicating that it has possibly become extinct in the Chiquibul Forest area. The tyra, jaguar, puma, ocelot, and gray fox were the least abundant species, while the Deppe’s squirrel, white-nosed coati, and collared peccary were most abundant. The most abundant bird species according to the research were the crested guan and keel-billed toucan, and the least abundant was the ocellated turkey. More....

Source: Translate.google.comA baby ocelot was found by the Federal Highway Police (PRF) inside a backpack with a Paraguayan, on Saturday afternoon, at Friendship Bridge, border between Brazil and Paraguay. The man wanted to sell the animal.

Very weak and breathless, the ocelot was sent to the Bela Vista Biological Itaipu treatment. Police say a pedestrian passing by noticed the crime and told the authorities. The Paraguayan was booked on a comprehensive term and then released. Photo.